Predicting adolescent peer problems and antisocial activities: the relative roles of aggression and dysregulation

This study examined the relative roles of aggression and other dysregulated behaviors in the prediction of adolescent peer problems and antisocial behavior. The social adjustment of 145 boys studied first in Grades 3-6 was assessed again 4 years later in Grades 7-10. At each time, peer ratings of aggressive, hyperactive-disruptive, withdrawn, and irritable-inattentive behaviors were collected. Aggression and withdrawal showed stability and were linked to peer difficulties in elementary school and in adolescence, but these behaviors indicated significant risk for adolescent rejection, victimization, and antisocial activity primarily when accompanied by irritable-inattentive behaviors. Results are discussed in terms of the potential role that difficulties regulating negative affect may play in the genesis of the particular constellation of irritable-inattentive behaviors studied here and the developmental significance of aggressive or withdrawn problem profiles that are or are not accompanied by these behavioral indicators of dysregulation.